Biking to Work: Week 7, Day 1

Okay, so week 7 *should* have been last week but I wasn't feeling well or something and just never got around to riding. But, this is a new week and Jane asked me yesterday if I wanted to ride in - all I need is a little kick in the butt. So I said sure. She said "ride the hybrid." By which she meant the Novarra... older, heavier, not as fast. So I rode Mertle. Which means I used my GPS to measure time, distance, etc, rather than an onboard cyclocomputer... yes, the numbers are slightly different but very close.

We scheduled our meet up for 6:30, meaning I'd have to leave the house no later than 6 (have I mentioned that she lives in the Kentlands, about 8 miles from my house?). Well, my alarm and I weren't on the same schedule this morning and I managed to hit the snooze alarm until 5:40... yes, giving me 20 minutes to get out the door. Well, I managed to get out in 25... so arrived at the meeting point about 6:35. No Jane. I checked my phone for any missed calls and there were none. So I waited about 5 minutes. Still no Jane. I figured she probably waited 5 minutes for me and then went on her way; maybe I'd catch her.

Well, I never saw her. But when I got to work, I found she'd sent an email saying to head out without her as she was running late. I checked the phone for a missed call but ignored looking at my email. Can you say "dumbass?"

Okay, on to the numbers....

Weather: mid 70s and humid going in, low 90s, humid, and cloudy coming home. There was a pretty high chance of rain in the afternoon but I only caught a couple of sprinkles - never enough to even call it rain.

Location: The tried and true route from Germantown to Bethesda and back.

Biking Companions: Not Jane. And Martyn's on vacation. So it was just me.

Trail/Road conditions: Unless something changes, just remember that the neighborhood roads suck, traffic in Montgomery Co. is not friendly to bikers, and there's always *one* out there that's just stupid.

The numbers:
To Bethesda:
Distance: 17.59 miles
Avg Speed: 13.1 mph
Max Speed: 31.3 mph
Riding Time: 1:20:00
GPS Only: overall avg: 12.2 mph
GPS Only: total ascent: 883 ft.

To Germantown:
Distance: 18.42 miles
Avg Speed: 13.6 mph
Max Speed: 32.9 mph
Riding Time: 1:21:00
GPS Only: overall avg: 12.8 mph
GPS Only: total ascent: 990 ft.

(There *is* more uphill coming home and I am always surprised that my average speed is faster in that direction.)

Biking to work: week 6, day 2

This is 6th week that I've ridden my bike into work (and home), the 3rd week in a row that I've managed to bike to work at least once and the 2d in a row that I've pedaled in twice in one week. Hope to eventually work my way up to 3 times per week; we'll see how that works out.

On the way to work, I decided to make it more of a strengthening work out and stayed in the big ring (high gears) as much as I could. It did not affect the average speed much (though I generally went faster when in the higher gear) because I wanted to keep the group together so would slow down as necessary for the other riders. At one point, I did have a little fun with a truck - we raced down a hill. I was winning for a while...

On the way home, it was MUCH more humid than yesterday and I thought that that, combined with my legs being tired from being in the big ring in the morning, would slow me down considerably coming home. Amazingly, the numbers were similar to Tuesday, maybe even slightly faster. But I am tired tonight... will probably call it an early night and fall asleep while watching the Tour de France.

And the best part of the ride home? Seeing Rene'!!! She saw us on Great Seneca Hwy on her way home from work. Pretty kewl...

Oh, in the spirit of full disclosure, I want to mention that the "ride time" listed below is the actual time spent moving - it doesn't count time waiting at traffic lights, stopped for equipment issues, etc. So the overall average speed is actually lower than that stated.

Weather: mid 60s and humid going in, low 90s, and humid coming home.

Location: The tried and true route from Germantown to Bethesda and back

Biking Companions: Same as Tuesday, Martyn and Jane.

Trail/Road conditions: Road conditions no different since Tuesday; traffic was light going in and much heavier than Tuesday coming home (which means more jerks on the road)

The numbers:
To Bethesda:
Distance: 17.85 miles
Avg Speed: 13.2 mph
Max Speed: 33.7 mph
Riding Time: 1:20:49

To Germantown:
Distance: 18.57 miles
Avg Speed: 13.7 mph
Max Speed: 30.2 mph
Riding Time: 1:20:53

Bicycling diary...

Well, my diary is full - it's got notes and times and weather conditions from rides I've done as far back as Jan 1, 2005. So, my lucky few readers, I'll keep my diary online!!

I rode Bella in today; my CIO met me at the house a little before 6 and we hit the road on our new bikes (I'm not sure if he's named his or not but it's a big, shiny, red bike). We picked up Jane about 6:30 in the Kentlands and made it into the office by 7:30. Nice weather, great company.

After a day in the office, nothing beats the knowledge that one gets to work their ass off just to get home and relax... so the three of us met outside about 5:15 and off we went, dodging cars, racing lights, scaring old ladies. Good times...

Now, what you've been waiting for, the diary part (sounds of 'oohs' and 'ahs' can be heard):

Weather: mid 60s and humid going in, low 90s, not so humid coming home.

Location: Germantown to Bethesda via Great Seneca Hwy, Darnestown Rd, Wootton Pkwy, Seven Locks Rd, Tuckerman Lane, Westlake Dr, and Westlake Terr. Reverse that for the ride from Bethesda to Germantown...

Biking Companions: As previously mentioned, Martyn (the CIO) and Jane (she works in the POS dept).

Trail/Road conditions: Bike paths on Great Seneca and Wootton Pkwy were great; streets in the neighborhood, not so much. Bike path on Wisteria and Seven Locks - useless so we used the street. Traffic was light going in, heavier coming home.

The numbers:
To Bethesda:
Distance: 17.64 miles
Avg Speed: 13.2 mph
Max Speed: 31.2 mph
Riding Time: 1:19:43

To Germantown:
Distance: 18.30 miles (took a slightly different route)
Avg Speed: 13.5 mph
Max Speed: 27.9 mph
Riding Time: 1:21:28

There is a nasty little hill on Seven Locks Rd, just south of Montrose, that usually kicks my butt going in to the office. Today, though it still wasn't easy, it was certainly easier than it has been previously. Maybe it's the bike, maybe it's practice; whatever it is, I like it.

G'night!!

Still riding to work...

... not quite as much as I'd hoped but I am getting there. Rode twice last week (Tuesday and Thursday) and am planning the same for this week. Tuesday was Mertle's day but I rode Bella in on Thursday... and crashed before I even got out of spitting distance of my front door. But there wasn't any blood so rode in with the sore knee. By the time I arrived at work (17.7 miles and one hour and fifteen minutes later), the blood had made it's way down to the sock - damn aspirin and Plavix! The knee was a little stiff on the ride home but nothing terrible.

Both days last week were solo rides; may have company this week but even if I don't, I'll still be out there (it *does* get easier each time). And I signed up for the Seagull Century, a one hundred mile ride taking place on Oct 4. Still not sure if I'm going to camp out as I did in 2003 (I rode the metric century that year, 63 mile route plus 7 miles to and from the YMCA where I camped) or if I'll opt for the hotel option (I'm leaning towards camping). I guess we'll see when we see...

No health news per se... same ol' same ol'... See ya!!